Homecoming
by Patrick-Henry
Summary: Jared left the caves, knowing that Melanie's body- along with the soul within it- would perish quickly without his protection. He returned to anything but what he expected.


_If I owned The Host, I wouldn't have had to wait years for it, now, would I?_

_A/N- Thank you very, very much to my friend who reassured me that this was going well, and persuaded me to post it. Adi, you're the best!_

Still dripping, I shook violently. Not with cold from my recent bath, nor with exhaustion after our trying excursion. With fury. In a few short weeks, while I was out risking my neck for their sake, my community- the remains of my species- had turned renegade.

When I left, I was- not content, but at peace with what would happen. By the time I was back, I was sure the leech would be gone. Nobody wanted it except me, and perhaps Jamie. But Jamie was just a kid; he wouldn't really be a problem.

But even now, I had caught Jamie consorting with it. Unconsciously, I raised my hand to my face; my nose was still tender, but the blood was gone. I wanted to talk with him- _alone- _ but Jeb had found me first, and ordered me here. I'd talk to the kid later.

I didn't understand anymore. They remained- barely- human, I'd made sure of that. So how had the alien gotten to them? Maybe the sneaky little thing had a trick, but had waited until I was gone...why, though? Because it knew it wouldn't be able to get to me? Then what about the others who had left? Were we the strongest, smartest- the only ones fit to survive out of all humanity?

I shoved those thoughts out of my head. They didn't really matter. Whatever this sick thing had done to them, using Melanie's shell, I would fix it. Very easily. As soon as it was gone, everyone would snap out of whatever it had put them in. And doing the deed didn't present a challange.

I didn't even think I'd need the gun. The hard part would be that she- it- used to be Mel.

Melanie. Her name still made me rigid with pain, and now, hatred. Revulsion tasted bitter in my moth as I remembered what Jamie had said earlier. _"And Mel! What about Mel? You can't kill Mel!" _He thought that she was still there, in the body. I knew better. Those disgusting parasites had been able to fool the rest of us by being- acting like- good people. They still kept our habits so completely, it was hard to tell. If their appearances lied, hid the truth of their ugly existence, than this one would also be able to mislead easily. Deception was burned into their very core.

I cleared my mind, took a deep breath. Clearly the others had been hoodwinked. I bet that the pathetic alien had worked off their pity and their memories of Melanie. Obviously, it was a Seeker, with some kind of master plan. Right now, I was sure, it had been gathering espionage. It looked as if it had cruelly used their hope that we didn't _always_ have to fade away, in order to trick them into thinking that Melanie was still there. I would have to rectify that.

I finished dressing. The others remained in the darkness, muttering angrily and relaxing their tense muscles, as I walked into the blinding light.

I blinked and looked around. In the steamy mist of my home, I could make Jeb out. He was standing stiffly in the river room. His gun was pointed at the entrance to the bathing cave- where my head was. I shuffled to the side, and the weapon moved as well. "Sit down, Jared," he ordered smoothly.

The ultimate betrayal cut at me, leaving an open wound. That gun should be trained on the _real_ threat. Outraged, I sat. As I waited, the pain of Jeb's disloyalty began to fester. But soon enough, Kyle, Andy, Aaron, and Brandt were fuming beside me, our backs to the wall.

Jeb had been whistling. As Andy came out, last, he cut off abruptly. "All right," he began. "Now, I'm asking you men to behave rationally tonight. Quite a lot has happened in since you've been gone, and we've got some talking to do."

He cocked the gun pointedly. "I'd like to do it sensibly, alright?"

I was silent, like the others. He waited until Brandt grunted our grudging assent. "Okay," Jeb began. I hated his pleasant, arrogant attitude. Jeb had saved me, probably from death, surely from total oblivion. And certainly from my own grief. But now, I hated his very existence.

I cursed that _thing_ for this entire situation. We'd turned against one another, thanks to _it._

Jeb swallowed and went on, breaking the still, vile silence. "Wanda is no threat. She'd rather die herself than harm us-"

Kyle interrupted. "Wanda?" he hissed, voicing my thoughts. It wasn't a tame pet. It was a danger to us all.

"Yes," Jeb answered, sounding annoyed. "Her," he emphasized, "name is Wanderer. She is part of us now."

I jumped to my feet. "Can't you see what it's done to you? It's tricked you- I don't know how, you're evidently stupider than I realized. But whatever it's done- snap out of it!" I was shouting at him, and my passionate words echoed out of the haze.

"Quiet," Jeb ordered, never raising his voice. "Wanda has become an asset to all of us. She belongs here."

"We are the human survivors! It is not human." Exasperated, I ground my teeth.

"That doesn't matter," Jeb retorted. "I'll accept whoever I want. You are all guests here, remember that."

"Excuse me?" Kyle was up beside me. "Hello? Where did we just come back from? Getting _you_ supplies. Making sure that _you_ don't die out here. I think I've earned my right over that...that..._thing!"_

"It's unfortunate that you refuse to let go of such a dumb misconception," Jeb commented calmly. "This is my house. I'll do what I want. If I want to, I'll kick you out. If I want to, I'll shoot you. If _you_ don't want either of those things, leave Wanda be. Understood?"

He looked at each of us in turn, waving the gun until his moronic rule was acknowledged. "All right," he said, softly. "Go see everyone. Help Doc out, if he still needs it. Then get some rest. You earned it. Just don't touch Wanda."

The others filed out. I turned to go, but Jeb spoke again. "Jared, you stay here."

"What now?" I snapped. I hated how condescending he was. Like he knew something I didn't.

"You, Jamie, and I need to talk." I groaned internally, glowering at him. I knew this was coming. Jamie and I had very different ideas on what to do about the thing. "How about your room?" It wasn't a question, despite the phrasing.

I would have gone there anyway. I was tired, and I wanted to relax. But I wasn't going to get solitude, even in my place of refuge. "Fine," I snarled and staked away.

Jeb followed, whistling merrily. Trudy came up to him and muttered something, I couldn't hear. Jeb started to relax- he looked relieved- but frowned at a second thing Trudy told him. He pulled at his beard, thinking hard.

I stepped up to them. "What is it? Did something happen in the hospital?" If Doc had learned how to remove the parasites, I would have Melanie back, and our community would be safe. Something that had seemed horrible and gruesome to me before had suddenly become my only hope.

Both Jeb and Trudy made disgusted faces. "No," they both answered at the same time. "I'm ashamed that we're still doing that," Jeb added.

"Yes," Trudy agreed, "it doesn't seem right anymore."

"Right?" I screeched. "They took over our planet, and you're worried about what's _right_?" This was too much.

Trudy nodded sagely. "Wanda may not be human, but she still has feelings. And she's so gentle. But just really, how would you feel if you saw one of us hacked apart? Besides, Doc's not making any progress."

I scowled, compelled by logic to agree with her last statement. But he might in the future- how could we know without trying?

I knew it was useless arguing, so I changed the subject. "If that wasn't about the hospital, what's happening?"

Trudy feel silent, looking to Jeb for an answer. He considered it for a minute. "Nothing important," he finally told me. "They found Wanda, that's all."

I was sure that there was more to his discontent expression, but I was also sure that I didn't want to know more. It was probably pity for the alien. Maybe he'd heard about our meeting by the storage hold. I let the subject drop. "Oh." Whatever. Without looking at anyone else, I trudged down the path to my cave. I wanted to get over this- I wanted my life back. It wasn't nearly happy, but had been normal enough. Human.


End file.
